There is something that you should know about me. I am very much a type-A personality. But I am working on it. Not that it is a bad thing…it just gets in the way of having fun sometimes. Once I decide on a goal, I’m like a rabid and starving dog…I latch onto it and DO NOT LET GO until I have done it. It’s like the old “hand shake” agreement that I have with my brain. It’s a sick sick sick disease that I have.

For example, a few years back I started running. I had never been a runner. When I think of runners, images of long legged and tall women and men come to my mind. Not me…short and squatty.  I’m short…very short. I lie when I say that I’m 5’3″ on my driver’s license. But I had a goal…I was going to start running. I had previously jogged here and there. I’d even ran a 5k several years before. But I had never kept with it. I was too busy, I thought. Too busy to take just 30 minutes out of my day.

So in an attempt to meet my goal and to shed some of the 10+ grad school pounds that I picked up, I began running. Beginning in January, I couldn’t run a mile. And then I ran two….and then, by April, I ran 6 miles in a relay.

Well, if I could go 6…I could go 13, right? Goal set. I ran a half marathon by June.

Then my head immediately says…”If you can do 13….you can do a full marathon”. Goal set.

My body choked, I got a hip fracture…but by October, I pushed through and finished a marathon, with a hip fracture. 26.2 miles. And yes, those last 0.2 miles are important. Did I mention I’m Type-A? And crazy. I mentioned I was crazy, right? And stupid. But I had a goal, right? Crazy.

Needless to say, I think I have learned my lesson…with running at least. I’m not advocating, at all, my quick way to marathoning. Really, you should be running for over a year before attempting one or even a half marathon at that. And then you probably won’t fracture your hip, like I did. stupid. I mentioned I was crazy, right?

Anyways, I do learn from my mistakes.

Who knows if I will ever run another marathon again, but I’ve been an avid runner now for over 3 years.  I’m addicted. I love the feeling of running in the spring. It’s my “me” time. I now know that you have to eat right to get to where you want to be. During that whole experience, I crashed and burned a lot, but I also learned that meals and snacks are the fuel for the next event.

I still do long runs on weekends, about 6 to 10 miles, depending on the weather. After a long run, bike ride, or even a hard workout (over 45 minutes), it is super important to get protein and carbs back into for body to refuel for the day and for your next run, ride, or workout. Low fat chocolate milk is perfect for this refueling. It has good carbs and plenty of protein (3 to 1 ratio). Usually, I buy the vacuum packed organic chocolate milk that is in simple individual servings. I can take them with me when I travel and they are a perfect single serving.

However, if I am at home, I make my own recovery drink which is a chocolate banana smoothie. I always keep sliced frozen bananas in the freezer because I always have those few bananas that are going bad at the end of the week. Slicing them up and storing them in the freezer is perfect to grab later for smoothies or to defrost and use in breads.

So here is the quick and simple smoothie. In a blender, throw some sliced frozen bananas with a cup of milk and a few teaspoons of dutch unprocessed cocoa powder (Mmmmm antioxidants!). Done. Blend. Drink.

Tastes like a milk shake.  Now that’s fun. I told you I was working on having fun. And even if you don’t do long runs, this is a great healthy start to your day or even as a dessert at night.

Chocolate Banana Recovery Smoothie

Makes: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1/2 to 1 cup sliced frozen bananas
• 3/4 to 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons dutch-processed cocoa

Instructions

1. Place cocoa in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of milk or water. Mix milk and cocoa powder to make a chocolate paste.
2. Add frozen sliced bananas, milk, and chocolate paste to a blender or the cup of an immersion blender.
3. Blend.
4. Drink.
5. Enjoy.